Endurance riding is based on controlled long-distance races. (stock photo)

FEI publishes decision on prohibited substance case

The FEI tribunal has published its final decision regarding samples taken from the horse Lunatica in Doha on 2 May 2015. The rider, Abdulla Mahmood Abdulla Darban rode the horse into fourth position in the CEI1 endurance event.

The horse returned positive samples for Propranolol and Dexamethasone, both prohibited under the FEI’s Equine Anti-Doping and Controlled Medication Rules (EADCMRs).

The Qatar based athlete also received a fine of CHF 2,000 and was ordered to contribute to the cost of the judicial proceedings. His ban will take immediate effect and run until 22 June 2017.

Propranolol, which is a beta-blocker used to lower the heart rate, is on the FEI’s banned substance list, and should therefore never be found in a competing horse’s system.  

As a controlled medication, the corticosteroid Dexamethasone is on the controlled medication list, and should have been cleared from the horse’s system by the time of competing.

The report states that the athlete acted in violation of the FEI’s Equine Anti-Doping rules and that the rider has “failed in his duty of utmost caution to ensure that the Horse has not ingested any Prohibited Substance.”

The rider must take any appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in the next 30 days.

Image © olgaru79